Balloon stick



H. A. LONGINO BALLOON STICK Filed Dec. 21, 1951 ATTDRN EYE I I a I I l 1I Patented Sept. 15,- 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BALLOON STIGKHugh A. Longino, ODonnell, Tex.

Application December 21, 1951, Serial No. 262,841)

3-Glaims 1 This invention. relates to. a: handle or support for aballoon of a size' suitable for use as a toy; and in particular a handleadapted to be inserted in. a neck of. a balloon. with a cap. forsecuring the end of the: neck ina groove of the handle: and with a:-telescoping fiutedstem extended from the handle and having a vacuum cupon the extended end;

The purpose of this invention isv to provide a supporting stem for: a;toy balloon which is adjustable to balloons of differentsize's and inwhich valve means isprovided for controlling the air in the balloon.v

Various devices have been provided for retaining balloons ininflatedpositions and for holding balloons in different shapes; however, it isdiificult to control the air in a balloon and also to provide ingressand egress of. air to and from the balloon as the supporting deviceisadjusted to difierent sizes. With this thought in mind this inventioncontemplates a tapering substantially cylindrical member adapted to beinserted in the neck of a balloon to provide a handle with a cap havingopenings therethrough threaded on the outer end for clamping the end ofthe neck of the balloon to the handle and with a rod havinglongitudinally disposed grooves therein and a vacuum cup on the outerend slidably mounted in a sleeve having longitudinally disposed slots inthe wall thereof, whereby with the sleeve extended from the handle therod is adjustable to compensate for the size of the balloon.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for forminga telescoping supporting stem for a toy balloon whereby air may beforced into the balloon through the stem with the parts of the stemadjusted to different positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a supporting stem for aballoon that is adapted to be used in conventional balloons withoutchanging the structure of the balloon.

A further object of the invention is to provide a supporting stem for atoy balloon in which the stem is of a simple and economicalconstruction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionembodies a body member having a tapering outer surface with a capthreaded into a nipple at one end of the body member and with a sleeveextended from the opposite end and a rod having grooves in the outersurface and a vacuum cup on the extended end slidably mounted in thesleeve and positioned whereby with the body member in the neck of a 2balloon the vacuum cup engages the inner surface of the opposite side ofthe balloon.

Other features and advantagesof the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in: connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view showing a section through a balloon. with thesupporting stem positioned in the balloon and shown in elevation.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the supporting stem of theballoon with parts of the balloon illustrated thereon and with parts ofthe balloon shown in section and other parts broken away.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the cap at the end of thehandle of the balloon support with the parts shown on an enlarged scale.

Figure 4 is a cross section through the cap and nipple at the end of thehandle being taken on line fi-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section similar to that shown in Figure 4., being taken online 5:'5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a cross section through the handle taken on line 6-6 ofFigure 2.

Figure 7 is a cross section through the stem taken on line l'! of Figure2.

Figure 8 is a cross section through the rod taken on line 88 of Figure 2and showing the vacuum cup at the end of the rod.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the improved toy balloon supporting stem includes ahandle I 0, a sleeve II, a rod i2 slidably mounted in the sleeve, avacuum cup I 3 positioned on the outer end of the rod, which adheres tothe inside of the balloon, a cap l4 threaded in a neck I5 at the end ofthe handle and a sealing washer I 6 positioned in the nipple andproviding a valve.

The handle I0 is provided with a bore I! with an enlarged section l8extending from a shoulder I9 and, as shown in Figure 2, the sleeve llextends into the section l8.

The sleeve H is provided with longitudinally disposed slots 20 wherebyair entering the bore l! of the handle passes into the sleeve andthrough the slots 20 into a balloon as indicated by the numeral 2|, andwhich is positioned with a neck 22 thereof stretched over the handle I0.

The rod I2 is provided with spaced longitudinally disposed slots 23 andthe vacuum cup I3 is secured to the extended end of the rod with a hub24 of the cup frictionally held on the end of the rod.

The handle I is formed with an annular groove 25 having a continuous lip26, at the base of the nipple i5 and a bead 21 at the end of the neck 22of the balloon is clamped in the groove 25 by the lower edge of the capI4 with a tubular section 28 of the cap which is threaded into thenipple l5, as shown in Figure 2.

The cap [4 is provided with a plurality of openings, as indicated by thenumerals 29 and 30, and when it is desired to force air into the balloonthe cap is turned whereby the openings 29 and 30 register withcorresponding openings 3| and 32 in the washer [6.

With the parts arranged in this manner the vacuum cup I 3 on the end ofthe stem is inserted through the neck of a toy balloon and after passingthe stem through the neck the handle I0 is forced into the neck with thebead at the end of the neck positioned in the groove 25 at the end ofthe handle.

The supporting device is adapted to be extended in the balloon as air isforced therein and after expanding the balloon to the size desired thecap [4 is turned whereby the bead 2'! is clamped in the groove 25 andwherein the openings 29 and 30 are offset in relation to the openings 3|and 32. By this means air is sealed in the balloon and the balloon issupported in the expanded position.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the design andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A balloon supporting stick comprising a handle having a boretherethrough, said handle having inlet openings therein positioned inthe handle in communication with the bore of the handle, and a caphaving inlet openings therein threaded on the end of the handle oppositeto that from which the sleeve extends and adapted to be rotated so thatthe inlet openings in the cap and washer are in alinement to permit theentrance of air into the bore of the handle or rotated so that the inletopenings in the cap and washer are out of alinement to seal the borethrough the handle.

2. A balloon supporting stick as described in claim 1, wherein thehandle is provided with an annular groove and the end of the neck of aballoon in which the device is positioned may be clamped in the grooveby the cap threaded on the end of the handle.

3. In a balloon supporting stick, the combination which comprises ahandle having a bore and having a substantially cylindrical taperingouter surface, said handle having an internally threaded nipple extendedfrom one end and an annular groove positioned around the nipple, aballoon having a neck positioned in the groove, a sealing washerpositioned in the nipple having inlet openings therein to permit theentrance of air into the bore of the handle, a cap threaded in thenipple to close said inlet openings, and a telescoping stem positionedin the bore of the handle having slots therein having communication withthe bore of the handle to permit the exit of air from the bore of thehandle and a vacuum cup on the extended end positioned in the balloon.

HUGH A. LONGINO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,223,638 Peterson Dec. 3, 1940 2,237,751 Bunin Apr. 8, 19412,524,059 Kennedy Oct. 3, 1950

